Honey bee forage in Seal Beach, California

When is the honey flow in Seal Beach?

• First forage: Jan 1 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion)
• Main flow: Jan 1 to Apr 15, peaking late Feb (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: May 1 to May 15 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Dec 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Seal Beach, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on Feb 10.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, citrus; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, garden flowers, dandelion; extra light amber, likely to set over some months

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Citrus: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms late Feb – late Apr
• Sorghum: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NE, blooms late Apr – early Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms early Apr – late May (grown 1 of the last 5 years)

From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.

The land and water around Seal Beach

Mostly: Developed, medium intensity; Open water; Developed, high intensity (paved).

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.17 mi N; pond, lake or river 0.24 mi SW.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Citrus: grapefruit: insecticides used on about 63% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: lemons: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: tangerines: insecticides used on about 82% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

How Seal Beach ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

About 34% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.

Nearby

Rossmoor 2 mi · Los Alamitos 3 mi · Westminster 4 mi · Cypress 5 mi · Midway City 5 mi · Hawaiian Gardens 5 mi

All towns in California · National map · How the scoring works

An estimate from public maps (USDA crop maps 2021–2025 averaged, LANDFIRE vegetation), not a survey of the ground. Maps can't see garden plantings, understory density, other beekeepers' hives, or this year's weather. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Seal Beach (33.7544, -118.0713); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.